PontiacParadise.com is taking the lead in the small world of big car reprodution parts.   The upcoming release of our universal trunk mount on January 1st, 2010 marks the start of many good things to come.  Owner Les Kasten has made the commitment to provide items sorely needed in the restoration of 1961 to 1968 full sized Pontiacs.  First up after the trunk mount, will be 1965-66 full size battery boxes.  Most people have never seen a good 65-66 battery box.  After a 3 year search, we finally have a pattern.  Also coming will be 65-68 z-bar mounts, 61-62 and 63-64 throwout bearing arms (clutch forks) and both 63 and 64 tachometer mounting brackets.  Have an idea of something that REALLY needs to be repro’d?  Please share it!  Watch this site for updates!

PontiacParadise.com has made the move to becoming a Parts Supplier to the industry.  As of September 1^st, 2009 we started carrying our own line of front end suspension and steering parts, along with all the other great items we stock….trunk floors, fuel tanks, senders, straps, transmission mounts, gas tank o-rings and more.  We finally had enough of the parts orders that went unfilled, poor customer service and pricing all over the place.  The parts we carry have a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser.  We have even more in the works including rear trunk body mounts…you know, the ones that are always rotten.  Please click on the “for sale” section and spend some time looking and comparing.  Thanks! 

The word SUPER DUTY is tossed around this industry like a beachball. I’m sure if you’ve been on eBay in the last 6 years, you’ve seen countless auctions for SUPER DUTY everything. Tachometers, wheels, chrome trim, hood scoops (which I will talk about later) ashtrays, clutch pedals, radio delete plates and maybe even some REAL SUPER DUTY PARTS.

First off, SUPER DUTY cars were only made between 1960 and 1963. They are beyond rare and fetch huge amounts of cash. Their parts are the same way. A lot of these cars were factory race cars and had their share of experimental parts like headers and intake manifolds. Very few were sold to the rich kid for a street racer. There were factory race cars in NASCAR and on the drag strips before SUPER DUTY and somewhat after the GM Ban on Racing in 1963. For example: Pontiac offered high horse engines starting in 64 known as HO Engines. They were 421’s or in later years, 428’s. However, people get confused as of course, everybody wants to find a SUPER DUTY GARDEN HOSE in their garage. The same thing is going on in the 1970 Chevelle market. Chevrolet made 453 LS-6 Chevelles in 1970 and only 20,000 still exist today, thanks to GM selling LS-6 crate motors. I see more 1961 Impala SS cars and 1969 Z-28’s then I ever saw when they were NEW! This is due to the reproduction of emblems. If it resembles a duck, it MUST be a duck theory.

You know, if I see another SUPER DUTY Hood Scoop on eBay, I think I’ll go crazy! PEOPLE, THESE SUPER DUTY HOOD SCOOPS ARE OFF MID 70’S TO MID 80’S F-600 FORD DUMP TRUCKS! Some guy has one on eBay right now for $350! If Pontiac made all these hood scoops, where are the cars they came off of? He says it’s NOS. Really? Where is the box or GM part #?

I just went out on eBay and saw 45 items listed under PONTIAC SUPER DUTY and out of those 45 items, 6 were honest to GOD Super Duty items for sale. I had recently emailed a person that stated he had a set of 63-64 SUPER DUTY clutch pedals. They were the standard heavy duty pedals with the large green spring. I have a partial set of 63 SUPER DUTY clutch pedals and they are NOTHING like the production pedals at all. Go look at 3-2 setups, about a third are listed as SUPER DUTY. People, all 3-2 setups that were SUPER DUTY were ALUMINUM, not cast iron intakes. Go to my Special Intakes Parts ID Section to see a boat load of SUPER DUTY intake manifolds.

In closing, understand that people use the word SUPER DUTY to try and reach more people to sell their item to, however it’s a two sided knife. Not many state that the item they are selling is really not a SUPER DUTY piece. That is left up to you, the buyer to determine. You can get screwed out there really quick. When in doubt, ask if you can return the item if it is found not to be a SUPER DUTY part. Then see how they act! A lot of these people are the same people that will sell you a 1962 tach for your console in your 64 Grand Prix. They just want your money. Buyers beware!

One of the biggest problems with buying an engine is shipping it.  It’s not like a carb or a radio where you can stuff it in a box and trot to the Post Office!  Problem solved!  Meet Kevin Schultz at www.EnginesDirect.net   Kevin has shipped many engines for PontiacParadise.com both in and out.  Kevin states that he can ship your engine for $250 or less anywhere in the lower 48.  He can also arrange shipping to the Great White North.   How many times have you found the engine you really need but that $400 to $600 regular freight shipping cost killed the deal?  No more.  You can contact  Kevin at 1-800 998-2100,  his email is kschultz@enginesdirect.net 

All Kevin asks is that the engine be securely fastened to a good pallet.  The engine can be disassembled or complete?  Partial or full.  Use your head and mount the engine using good wood and deck screws to hold the wood.  I also use 1/4″ eyelets and racheting straps to go over the top of the engine & parts.  Any boxes I ship have a plywood bottom and are screwed to the pallet.  The company that picks up the engine will have a pallet jack for both pickup and delivery.  Kevin will pickup from  or deliver to a residence however the cost is a bit more, but still $250 or less!  Try beating his prices.  You can’t.   Kevin is out of Phoenix, so take that into account when calling him.  Please tell him you found out him thru PontiacParadise.com

Sometimes on these older cars, you may end up with a rusty or clogged brake or fuel line.  Of course, there are companies that make pre-bent replacement lines for almost every application.  This is great….until you go to install.  I have my 1964 Bonneville 421 Brougham on my two post lift in my shop.  The fuel line was hopelessly clogged with black goo from old fuel.  My son and I spent two+ hours just rying to remove the old line.  We finally did so in three pieces.  I had a replacement line in hand and after another two hours of trying to get it in position, we gave up as we had bent it all to hell, far from it’s original perfect bent status.  And was JUST over the rear axle.  People, the only way to install these new lines is if the body is off the frame.  There is NO way to install these front to rear lines without the body being completely away from the frame.  My new fuel line is 3/8″ rubber hose cable tied to avoid any problems.  If I ever take the car off the frame, I will replace all the lines.  Any frame off project from here on will receive all new lines.  Just some advice….Les

Brought in the red 64 Grand Prix from South Dakota.  Put it up on the lift only to find what I had suspected earlier….the frame is toast and the body itself is not worth fixing.  Enter good friend Tom gardner from Bend, OR.  Tom recently brought me a mint 66 Grand Prix trunk floor.  I am going to try and find someone here in the Twin Cities to re-pop these or I will use it in a car that needs it and hope someone eslse re-pops these.   A lot of time & money to be spent here.   Anyway, Tom sold me a 64 Grand Prix non-air decent body on a nice rolling frame and it will be here next week.  Plans are to send the car to Milt’s and have the underside and frame blasted and sealed just like the 66 Grand Prix I did before and transfer the rusty GP’s guts into the the Oregon car.  It will be made into a four speed with tach and Rally gauges.  I have a mint set of doors and fenders for the new car.  The red car also had A LOT of hail damage.  The red car will be scrapped. 

The 66 Nevada Grand Prix has yet to return to Milt’s as it has taken quite a long time to get certain parts and do the labor needed to get it rolling.  I scrapped a 62 blue four door Catalina to get the air dash and column for the 62 Bonnie ragtop project (the burner!).  The frame was toast as was most body parts.  Everything that was good was saved.  Anyway, the 66 GP now has a completely rebuilt front end with new springs, brake hoses and shocks.  I need to remove the interior, lube the transmission and fix the stuck parking brake.  I am also changing the firewall pad as the one in the car is shot.  The new gold cad plated power assist and master cylinder will also be changed out.  Found a fair amount of gas in the oil and assumed the fuel pump was leaking gas.  It has been replaced.   Once all this is done, the car will return to Milt’s for glass removal and a trip to the media blaster.  Then it’s time for the new black vinyl top and repaint to black.   I hope to have the car up to Milt’s by 6-2-2009.   Upon return, the car will have 8 lugs installed and then it’s off to the interior shop.  Thanks to Les Kapaun for his help on making tooling to press out the front end bushings on this car.  He helped remove and install the new bushing in the a-arms too.  Les recently drove over his 1966 Buick 225 convertible.  He’s owned it for 20 years and has done major amounts of work to the car.  Now that he is retired, he can really get some stuff done. 

In the first bay, is Les’ 64 Bonnie ragtop from Sacramento, rust free but not yet running.  The car showed with the 389 somewhat disassembled (intake and distributor removed and missing!).  Options are PS, PB, auto (see ya!), PW and an AM-FM.  The car is Fontane Blue and will remain that color.  I have a 64 320 horse 421 35S engine just now starting thru Kelley’s Machine Shop to do for the car and of course, it will become a bench seat 4 speed car!  The car will have it’s 389 compression checked before pulling it out. 

Once the Black Missouri 64 red GP clears the garage, Matt’s 64 Catalina 4 door sedan will be brought in for a complete inspection, especially the frame and I will disassemble the car for complete restoration.  I expect to work on the car all summer and into the fall.  My good friend, Les Kapaun has been coming over and helping me now & then also.  I am having a hard time working due to my injury at the railroad last summer. 

 My daily driver white 64 Bonnevile tossed a starter this past fall.  I have my 64 Brougham parts car here on a trailer to remove all the factory air components and wiring for the 64 white driver.  Although the car is from California, someone has cut EVERY wire to the a/c. along with EVERY cable.  The car has nice 1972 400 with a correctly installed short shaft Turbo 400 with a beautiful exhaust system. 

I recently picked a 1969 428 engine for use in my 64 Bonnie Superior 9 passenger Limo from St. Louis.  Wanted more power and will also install a Turbo 400 for better control of that power in the car.  Using #16 heads, the car should move right along.  This fall should see the start on my 64 Ventura four speed hardtop. 

I recently purchased a black 64 Grand Prix from Enid, OK that was “supposed” to be a 421, 4 speed car minus engine, trans, tach, buckets and console.  There were no 421 emblems on the car.  Anyway, once here, I PHS’d the car and lo and behold…it’s a 421 HO car!  Wow!  OK, I have everything to stuff back into the car except the correct 45S 421 HO engine.  Help! 

I also have a really nice rust free 1966 Bonneville 2 door hardtop coming in from California.  The car is off white with a black bench seat interior.  It had a 389, automatic with steering and brakes.  The engine and windshield have been removed.  I have a 1966 WG 421, 338 horse engine for the car along with a long shaft M-20 four speed.  The car will become a 421 bench seat four speed fun car using factory parts along the way.   

Well, that’s about it.  Take care.  LMK  5-28-2009

Would somebody out there be so kind as to email me a decent photo of a 1964 GTO in-dash tachometer?  I have never had some much problem getting a simple photo in my life.  I asked two people who had a tach listed on eBay to please email me a photo in a .jpg form.  Both came back with “Why do you need this? and after explaining why, both continued to ask more questions.  Like who cares?  Either send the photo or piss off.  I am trying to show people why GTO’s NEVER had console mounted tachs or vacuum gauges.  The best way to show them is to let them see what DID come in GTO’s.  Good Lord, I thought people involved with Corvettes were cracked!  Anyway, if you can help me finish this, I would really appreciate it.  The 64 photo is the last one I need, then I can post the ID.  Thanks! 

Check out PontiacClassics.com.  The owner, Jon Fiedler, has been collecting for nearly 25 years and has around seventy full size Pontiacs.  He’s currently working on getting them listed on his web site.  He is also there to help with information and parts to supply.

Lets say you have a 61 to 64 full size Pontiac and you want to install a later model Pontiac V-8 engine (anything except a 403). You should not have any problems bolting the engine to your original transmission, be it a stick or an automatic (Slim-Jim…etc). Your motor mounts will work as they are pretty much the same. Alternators may change sides, but for the most part, the swap is an easy one. You can continue to use your back-bolt starter too.

One problem waiting for you in the weeds has to do with Catalina & Grand Prix transmissions verses Bonneville and Star Chief transmissions. In both the automatic AND stick versions, the transmissions are 2+ inches longer in the Bonneville & Star Chief. The automatics will not interchange between the shorter wheelbase models. The transmission hump is shaped different also. A good reason why you cannot take an automatic console out of a Grand Prix and use it in a Bonneville. The manual transmission cars are the same way. The Catalina & Grand Prix used a regular Borg Warner T-10 transmission while the Bonneville and Star Chief used a T-10 with an extra long main & tail shaft to extend the transmission the extra distance of the longer wheelbase. Both had a cast iron case with an aluminum tail shaft.

OK, lets say you want to install a Turbo 350/400 or maybe a 700R or a L460E transmission up against your original 389 or 421 (64 or earlier). Houston, we have a problem. If you have noticed, all 64 and earlier full size Pontiac motors take a back-bolt starter. The blocks were not drilled for an up-bolt starter until 1965 for full size Pontiacs and 1964 for GTO. There is NO way to bolt a back-bolt starter to a modern transmission. 64 GTO’s were the first to use an up-bolt starter AND an aluminum bellhousing. There is a boss above the starter where a GOOD machine shop can drill your early block for an up-bolt starter, as long as they have you motor torn down, a new u-bolt starter and a correct flywheel bolted to your crank. An idea to consider if and when your early motor is torn down regardless if you were thinking about it now.

The above is a photo of a 1964 GTO block.  Note the two starter holes in the lower left hand corner.  These holes are NOT on 64 and earlier big car 389’s or 421’s.  Thanks to unlockedtreasures@yahoo.com for the photo!

This same problem will follow up if you attempt to install an early motor (64 on back) into a 65 on up car. You would be using the transmission (stick or automatic) original to the car, however that car HAD an up-bolt starter. Because of you putting in a 64 or earlier engine, you have no provisions for an up-bolt starter, be it a stick or automatic. And trust me when I tell you that “no matter how good you think you are, you can’t drill the block for an up-bolt starter from under the car.

One closing tip….when you have new exhaust bent for your car, MAKE SURE the guy doing it leaves enough room to slide the starter off the car without removing the exhaust. I am doing a 66 Grand Prix where the exhaust runs right under the starter so that means EVERY time you want to pull the starter, the LH exhaust pipe MUST be dropped. And of course, you’ll ALWAYS break off at least one exhaust stud! And use stainless steel studs with brass nuts. One final tip…always mount & use a factory air conditioning shroud. In the summer, you’re car will run 20 to 30 degrees cooler on those hot days.

Have any other tips to share? Please email me and if they are good ones, I will place them out here and give you the credit. Enjoy! Les

Update:  6-10-2009:

George Rutherford has passed on some excellent information on an adaptor you can buy to mount a Chevy Turbo 350 or any BOP transmission behind your early Pontiac engine (pre-1965) and use a Mopar starter to fire it up!  A company called Wilcap on the west coast sells this slick adaptor.  The part number is 389-350AT.  Visit them at www.Wilcap.com and check out all the cool adaptors.  I found an adaptor to mount your late model Cummins diesel to an 87 Yugo transmission.  No, not really but they have it covered.  Thanks to george for finding this.  LMK

Update:  12-16-2008:

I have further detailed information on 64 (late) big car blocks and more on the tranny issue from Bill K. Here we go….

From Bill K at rkcar_farm: 

Have been through this debate a number of times, but ‘64 is the changeover year, this block has the ear at the back with holes drilled for a block mount starter and not having that ear is the biggest reason you can’t put a TH200R4/350/400 behind a 61-63 block. The holes may need to be tapped, but they are there - that’s the only reason I even bothered to keep the motor, or it would have gone to scrap with some parts pulled off it back in June when I cut the car up. Not all ‘64 blocks have the ear, and not all blocks with the ear are drilled or tapped, but all of the late production ’64s seem to have the ear and holes. — The ‘61-’64 Bonneville and Star Chief did not get a “Slim-Jim” - they used the same dual-coupling Hydra-matic as 56-60 Pontiac and Olds and 56-64 Cadillac (trans was repackaged somewhat for ‘60-up in a smaller, lighter case than ‘56-’59). The trans is physically larger to the point that to swap one into a Catalina you need to get a donor trans tunnel along with the trans itself, or otherwise find a way to make room for it. 

They’re two completely different transmissions; the Dual-Coupling Hydra-matic won’t even interchange to the Catalina/Grand Prix without swapping the trans tunnel as well. It’s basically the same trans as used in all

Pontiacs from 56-60, and in Cadillac from ‘56-’64. Olds also used it ‘56-’60, not sure if any Olds had it for the ‘61-’64 cars. Bill K.

PontiacParadise.com is currently accepting a limited amount (2) of detailed restoration projects for a anticipated start date of September 2008.  All projects MUST be within the building with NO outside storage available (per current City of Rosemount regulations). All vehicles currently stored outside are the personal property of Les Kasten and are NOT part of PontiacParadise.com.

Please contact us for further details.

We would be more than happy to fax or email our qualifications and pricing structure to you. Not only do we have the expertise to do whatever you desire, PontiacParadise.com also has the equipment to do frame-off restorations including a body rotisserie and a two post lift.

We look forward to your project.

Thank you,
Les